The Village Kitchen

Chicken souffle and cheese pudding

Base

1 medium sized onion

2 rashers of back bacon

15 g / 0.5 oz butter or margarine

125 g / 4 oz mushrooms

Soufflé

25 g / 1 oz butter

25 g / 1 oz plain flour

150 ml / 0.25 pint milk

225 g / 8 oz cooked chicken

3 eggs

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to moderately hot (Gas 5, 375F, 190C) and have the centre shelf ready.

2. Peel and slice onion.

3. Remove rind from bacon and cut rashers into pieces.

4. Melt 15 g / 0.5 oz butter in a saucepan and add onion and bacon. Cook gently for 5 minutes until onion is soft.

5. Clean and quarter mushrooms. Add to pan and cook for 3 minutes.

6. Turn mixture into a greased Soufflé dish or similar deep ovenproof dish.

7. For the Soufflé: melt 25 g / 1 oz butter into the saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes without browning.

8. Gradually add milk, stirring until thick. Remove from heat.

9. Chop chicken finely.

10. Stir chicken into sauce and remove from heat.

11. Separate egg yolks from whites. Stir yolks into the sauce with a little salt and pepper.

12. Stiffly beat whites until they stand in peaks.

13. With a metal spoon, fold whites lightly into chicken mixture.

14. Pour into the Souffle dish over the mushroom mixture.

15. Put immediately into the oven for 30 - 35 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Try not to open the oven during cooking.

Serve at once. A Soufflé sinks very soon after it is taken from the oven into cooler air.

600 ml / 1 pint milk

50 g / 2 oz margarine

125 g / 4 oz fresh white or wholemeal breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon grated onion

1 level teaspoon of made mustard

0.5 teaspoon of salt and pepper mix

2 eggs, separated

175 g / 6 oz grated cheese

1. Heat the milk and margarine, add the onion and the breadcrumbs and leave at least half an hour, or overnight.

2. Beat mustard, salt and pepper into egg yolks and add these and the cheese to the crumb mixture.

3. Fold in firmly whisked egg whites.

4. Pour into 1.5 litre / 2.5 pint lightly greased pie dish and cook in a moderate oven (Gas 6, 400F, 200C) for 40 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary as top may brown before centre of pudding is cooked.

5. Eat hot.

(If you add a further ounce of breadcrumbs the pudding will hold together quite well when cool and is good for picnics)